They'll treat ya good. Truth of the matter is that when this 1st happened (about 3-4 weeks ago) I called them and they said that normally they'd have you ship your plane back so they could evaluate it and then basically replace the bad part (if able to duplicate the problem) and ship it back to you. But in both mine and my brother's situation (he had servo freeze up also) they said they were so back ordered on new servos that they wouldn't have any in until late Aug. or early Sept. so they just sent us each a new plane. So that was fantastic, but....I have a sickening feeling that the new Pole Cat (still in it's box) is going to have the same problem. I just kept taping up and flying my original beat up one limping along until it's demise yesterday. I'm sure it has probably been to long now since I got the replacement one that if I fly it and find out it's faulty to that they probably wouldn't replace it. Don't know that for sure, but it would be my guess.

The term "HOLD" is just the radio companies way of saying "CRASH" without saying crash.
They simply wanted the word to sound a little more kind other than their radio not working and causing the plane to crash.

I was using my DX5e when I 1st got the Pole Cat. It did it with that and now with the DX7 I now own. I'm not familiar with the "Hold" situation you are referring to. Where can I read more about it? Also, my understanding is that the DMX radios should be compatible with DSM2 RX's. But I honestly don't know much about any of this as I am brand spankin' new to Spektrum and 2.4ghz systems. I'm a little concerned now after getting rid of all my 72mhz stuff as I see lots of folks selling their brand new DX8's in the Classifieds here.

DSMX transmitters operating in DSM2 mode
The Spektrum Team has been investigating sporadic reports from DSMX transmitter owners using their products in DSM2 mode. We have discovered that in some rare instances, DSMX equipped transmitters with the Product ID (PID) within this bulletin, may have a backwards compatibility issue that could cause a "hold" with the following superseded DSM2 receivers: AR500, AR6100, AR6100E, AR6110, AR6110E, AR6200 and AR6300.

Note: This bulletin does not apply to DSM2 only transmitters.

If you have a DSMX transmitter with one of the following PIDs, please complete the Transmitter Service Request Form to receive a prepaid shipping label to send your transmitter to Horizon Hobby for a free firmware update.

I've been flying a Champ for around 2-3 months, and have mastered everything that the Champ has to offer I wanted to stick with UM's and thought the polecat might be good. Any suggestions? How does this plane compare to the T-28 and Corsair in terms of speed? How much wind can the polecat handle?

my advice would be go to the T-28 for your next step up, the pole cat is MUCH more agile and a bit quicker. if i had gone from my albatros directly to the polecat it would have ended up as a smoking hole in the ground, without a doubt. first time i flew my polecat it was with 6-8kt winds and it had no trouble at all

I've been flying a Champ for around 2-3 months, and have mastered everything that the Champ has to offer I wanted to stick with UM's and thought the polecat might be good. Any suggestions? How does this plane compare to the T-28 and Corsair in terms of speed? How much wind can the polecat handle?

Your next step should be an aileron plane like the UM T-28. Once mastered the Pole Cat will be a pussy cat for you with more precision, control and speed but not crazy fast. It will fly slow too. I love the pole cat and it's one of the best UM's out there. It really maneuvers smoothly, flies like it's on rails and handles wind much better than the Champ, T-28 and P-51.

Do you have any other plane that you would recommend for me other than the T-28? (not that I have anything against it....)

I understand your feelings aginst the T-28. But once you fly it you will fall in love with it. To learn to fly you need to follow a form of progression. There is no better plane then the UM T-28 to bring you to the next level. Been there done that......Champ, T-28, Pole Cat, Beast and Sbach is the way I went.
The fun factor just keeps going up as you better and the planes get better.
It's all about progression. You crawled before you could walk, then running was even more fun....

Well, apparently the servo issue has hit home here. This evening flights were going great until the Pole Cat kept turning right until it hit the ground. First inspection of the plane found the aileron servo locked full right. Working the ailerons stick back and fourth with no response. Took it back to the garage and hooked up a new battery and it locked up again into the neutral position, after a couple seconds of moving the stick the servo started working again. A complete inspection of the aircraft revealed the crash hit hard enough to loosen the motor and crush scaring to the spinner and nose (not happy). Comparing servos the rudder and elevator ones are quieter and smoother. I can actually here the aileron servo skipping. This SUCKS!

I'll be talking with Horizon in the Morning!

Running with DX6i pre-DSMX.

Last edited by divemasterphil; Aug 25, 2011 at 11:45 PM.
Reason: Radio Spec

Well, sad to say that Pole Cat #1 is now basically toast. After not one but two more crashes (now a total of about 5-6) from a servo failure and then plane going totally dead in mid flight the other night I CA'd her back together and took her out this morning to see how she'd do. I did a pre-flight check and ailerons and rudder were moving fine. Mind you, at this point I have disabled a the totally faulty rudder servo by clipping one of the wires, and gave her a toss. She took off nice and level and then i gave a little up elevator to climg out and she just nose dived straight into good ol' Terra Firma. Tup, no elevator response. So anyway....guess it's time to pull out the replacement Cat that Horizon sent me a few weeks ago and see what all is faulty on it. How are the rest of you Pole Cat owners fairing?